New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-22
WHERE THE ARTISTS WORK.
THREE GROUPS OF STUDIO BUILDINGS

about New York. And any interested IN art anu
artists can nd solid bit OF satisfaction certainty
not on in the notable increase here OF late years III
| the number OF painters etchers scuptors ana inc
rest but also IN the marked improvement OF studios
generally, and the astonishing growth all over the
city of big studio buildings and artists hsts' Even
SO metter-otfac man real estate agent can tel
You that art must be having something of BOOM"
For new and carefully built studios mean higher rents
and freer living all around. And ii artists as pony
were not making money, how could this general eh-
ransion and improvement come
The demand for studio buildings has. in fact, been
increasing extraordinarily for the last i've years,
| the push for and better quarters coming allko
| from the older men who have worked along IN the
old hampered way far, and from the younger men,
mat coming ont IRON tho art training schools here,
or bringing back their brushes and paettes from the
studios abroad.
Ton years ago there we're about three real studio
buildings in w-York, with Il swarm oil artists,
perhaps painting away in conventional back garrets'
Now there at least ten big studio buildings ana
| two three times that many apartment houses anu
fats with studios or two floors. And from all
appearances there just az many artists outside
trying 20 yet in "a before. Studios, too have been
vastly improved and beautidcd, and many are buht
now to catch a class of wealthy, p.easnre-ioVlns
Young men who turn art into pastme ana ENJOY lie
generally in luxurOusly furnished bachelors roo"s
The boom, at any rate. is pronounced one all
around, aud promises to dot the town over III year
or two with pretty combination studios aud hats
Just now the studio buildings can be gathered for
the most part into three small groups one about ana
near Washington Square, another in Fourth-ave near
rwenty-third-st, and third the largest OF all, III
| MINER Broadway and about Fitty-frth-st. The old
Tenth Street Studio Building. the University Building
and the Beneck are prominent IN tne nrst, Assoei-
alton Hall and the Fourth Avenue studios FORM the
second. The Sherwood, llobcin, and Il dozen others
with and without nmes OF their own, are IN me thrd
The West Tenth Street Studios are the oldest and
| best known In New-York. They we're bult about
thirty years ago by James b. Johnston, and are owned
| now by John Taylor Johnston, this president
| of the Metropolitan Museum OF Art Inc mouse 10 u
plain rcd brick one, three stories high, with Droau
| high windows toward the street At glance one
! might almost take it for an average west side
urinary or grammar school. Inside, however, space
seems wasted mucn too avishly tor that The studio
| building, above the ground floor, Is mere she OF
four walls about big square court, with the glass
skylights of n gallery at the bottom OF it, The north
and south sides consequently have two sets OF WIN
dows inside and outside. The east and west tiers
front only the open court. Tho north and south
sides alone used for studios proper ihe rest oil
tho building is given up TO sleeping ana living rooms
All The north side studios OF course, have the lndis
pensibe northern light. The ion top ones on the
south side by means of skylIghts, have it too The
rest get along "a best they can, but somehow keep
in demand, banking chiefly, perhaps, on the creJlt OF
! the rest OF tie bulIOlng. n eoou Htuuo J." 'N''
Tenth.t twelve by sixteen feet, perhaps, rents Tor
about 800 q year. Some 60 as high as 5000
William ". Chase who has ground hoor one on tho
north side and the use, too OF the ola sKylSht
| gallery paws 81 900 year tor both D. ". brO"h
who was eaed the other day as Juror 70 Try JACOB
Sharp, I'm studio on the top Moor here, nOrth sus
Some OF tho ohers in THIS building are H. w:
! Robbins NJ f. De Haas, l.. f. Whmarth and l. W.
| Wood j. G.. Brown has been here over twenty years;
and all the tenants 80 the agents say, STICK uut
they give mp studios Altogether Inc uen nnd ,o1
| I..-1 tera al
several years in advance. Leases run LOT year OF
! oIger with tho privilege OF removal No advance IN
rents IL IA SAID, has made since tho studios were
built The West Tenthtt. house lacks many OF
the convenience of the newer buildings Dnt WIN us
air OF quiet and seclnsion its older-ia'hioncd work
shops and IT, growing stock OF associations, IL ~
| norhao. a moro genuine art haunt than any OF It's
more iastidous and polished SUCCESSORS
The Young Mems Christian Association Building nt
Foprthaye and Twenty-third-st. shelters small
coionv o artists at reason lblc rates The top floors OF
! the hoI,e were cut into studios when tho Odhdlhg
was put up nearly twenty years ago. ILere Is an
elevator service here, and care OF tho studio as IN all
the other biz buildings isiucuded IN the rent running
| wafer and steam heat arc thrown IN also There are
twenty-five rooms now IN Association Han lbc
larger ones. with good northern light, cost from
| $50 70 - 90 n year The single studios rent tor
t350 Rents are collected quarterly. Some of tho
artists here arc David Johnson, William Hart ana
! Wordsworth Tnompaon.
The Fourth-ave. building block or two furthor
nm dtes back TO 1876 IL - corner brick house. tour
stories bipn with narrow front on Fourth-aye and
n long side on East Twenty-hith-st There are aooHt
twenty studios here all but two with good northern
| LIGHT Rents run from $500 to $500 year and are
| ,avablo monthly There Is no elevator Most OF the
,o9rns are large aud have high CO liugs. George ii.
Smile has two studios here. Among the other
! artists with Studio apiece arc james H. SmiI"e'
H. s. }. Smile and j. W. Champney'
Wc,t Filtyatth.st between Sixth an Seventh
aves is ull OF queer lot of studios fitted out with
Spartan simplicity the second hoors OF seVerai
livery stables. The llolbein Is the ocst Known Oh
Them and runs from No. lac to No. l52. IL has i've
mr. six big rooms with skylghts Most OF the studios
arc bare enough. Attendance Is extra There IA no
running water and has to get his own fuel IN winter
Single studios rent for from 500 to 500 year
Aoross the way from No. 135 to No. 10 Is another
act of them fifteen seventeen in all SkyhghtS are
the rule and the light ia excellent Rates are the
same IA In the Holbein. both the buildings being
owned uy estate. George lnness once uan
studlo M here. Most OF the tenants are AMBITIOUS
vonpq panters no not sticklers Tor appearances
The artists do not live the stabos, Of course
but there IS prejudice among inc more iaSno"'o'0
men against these easy-going quarters
Many of these more fashionable and wealthy artists
live inst two blocks away in the Sherwood at sixth
ave and Filty-seventhst- This is tho biggest ana
most costly of all the studio buildings about town
Iohn H. Sherwood put couple OF hundred
,honsand dollars into IL nearly five years ago and 1t
| hos slways been looked upon as an interesting
vcr ture in highcla,s studios The big building stapeS
o the southeast corner Of the block with It's longer
face in Fiity-scventh-st, giving all but seven OF It's
iorty-eght suites OF rooms the 'nuch,desred oortn,
ern light Many OF tho artists live here with
,bcr families the suites running in two,
three or tour apiece. the hvng
and sleeping rooms facing chiefly 10. on ,,, the
LII, viii the siye OF the suites, somethe two-room
ones renting as low as 500, others crossing the
e. 900 line Lito in the Sherwood is much hko that
J a. aov Lg privae hotel or hat Leases are made Tor
,nrms longer than year II necessary. Among the
1T. ,Tho have taken studios at the Sherwood are
i G. Beckwith. 4. IL. Wyant, Jan Won CheIminski'
and r. W. Van Boskerck-
H.. LiItr-GILLst il a nrellY little ktndin